An almost complete lack of historical information relevant to the two districts of Columbus leads me to quote directly what was written in an early newspaper column dated Thursday, July 28, 1988 by John “Schoolhouse John” Hall.

“Schoolhouse John came to Chenango County looking for a piece of yesterday. He chose Columbus Township as a starting place. The subject of his visit was to research, the ten one-room schools that used to dot the countryside. This is what he found.

He found places called Columbus Quarter, Columbus Center, Park Hill, South Hill and Tallett, to name a few, each with its own little school. He traveled from Five Corners in New Berlin to Brookfield; from the Unadilla River to Sherburne.

Three buildings have burned: South Hill (No. 7); Tallett (No. 4): and The Carter School (No. 10) on Shawler Creek. Park School on Park Hill has been made into a home. The school in Columbus village is gone (No. 3) and No. 11 out by the Girl Scout camp is just a bunch of boards. There was a school, Perrytown, between Five Corners and Columbus village, but its history has been lost in time.

This leaves the three that are still standing. The school in Columbus Quarter (No. 9) is in the best shape and stands near the local church. District 6 still stands on state land, on the headwaters ofShawler Creek and, like the school in District #5 southwest of Columbus village, is in very poor shape.